How to Get Traffic to Your Blog (How I Became the Freddy Krueger of Blogging)

“Wow, Danny, you’re like the Freddy Krueger of blogging—wherever I turn, you’re there!”

I received several comments like that when I started my business.

The consensus seemed to be that I was everywhere. No matter which blog or website you visited, I was the cyberstalker who was there waiting for you.

I didn’t mind the comment.

In fact, I liked it.

I liked it because it was meant as a compliment. When I caught your attention, I gave you something interesting to read and think about. If I worked extra hard, you even learned something useful.

Every now and then, the comments went further than just noting my apparent omnipresence. They asked how I did it: Didn’t I sleep? Didn’t I have a family or other commitments?

Yes, I did, and yet I still managed to be “everywhere.”

But the truth is that I wasn’t really everywhere, and I didn’t work 24/7. It just seemed that way.

In this post, I’m going to tell you why—and how you can do the same. Then I’m going to share my own checklist for writing a great post every time. And you, too, will have everything you need to succeed.

In the Beginning, There Was Copyblogger

It started innocently enough. I was writing for my fledgling blog, Firepole Marketing, which was still in its infancy.

We’d get 30 visitors a day on a really good day.

I was in Jon Morrow’s guest blogging program, and I received the latest lesson in my inbox. It explained that list posts are the easiest way to break into a big blog, because they tend to perform well, and they’re so much work to produce.

As luck would have it, I had just developed a curriculum of business books for a client. So I emailed Jon and asked him if he thought it would be a good fit for Copyblogger.

He said that he couldn’t make any promises, but if I wrote the draft, he’d take a look and pass it along if appropriate.

I spent some time on each of those blogs looking for an interesting intersection between what they write about and what I write about—something that their audience would be interested to read.

I took that list and sent them all an email—something like this:

SUBJECT: Guest Posting on [BLOG NAME]: “[HEADLINE IDEA]”

Hi [BLOGGER’S NAME],

I only recently discovered your blog, but as you know, I really like your stuff! [ALTERNATIVELY, I’VE BEEN READING FOR A WHILE, ETC.]

I’ve been thinking about writing a post about [SUBJECT], and it occurred to me that it would be a great fit for your audience. Here are a couple of ideas for the headline (which can be changed, of course):

[HEADLINE IDEAS]

To get a sense of my writing, you can check out Mirasee.com, or my recent guest post on Copyblogger—it got over 200 comments and 900 tweets.

What do you think? Shall I write up a draft?

[SIGNATURE INFORMATION]

I emailed about a dozen bloggers, figuring I wouldn’t hear back from three quarters of them, and most of the rest would be rejections. At best, I was hoping to end up with one or maybe two guest posts.

“Oh, crap, they all said yes!”

Yup. It turns out that bloggers are a lot easier to reach than I thought they would be, and if you do your homework and make a solid, concise pitch, they’re likely to respond favorably.

Almost all of them said yes.

My first thought was: “Great!”

My second thought was: “Oh, crap, now I have to write a dozen posts, and I have to do it all in the next week or two!”

I was under the gun. This was a great opportunity, and if I blew it or came off as unreliable, I probably wouldn’t get another chance.

So I buckled down and wrote.

And wrote.

And wrote some more.

Then the posts all started to go live…

The Power of Omnipresence

Having all these guest posts run within a few weeks of each other was a happy accident, but I learned something very important from the experience:

The value of guest posts increases exponentially with the number of posts you write.

In other words, two guest posts is worth a lot more than just two individual posts on your own site. Three are worth a LOT more than two, and so forth.

Why? It goes back to the truism we’ve all learned about the number of impressions you need to make in order for people to notice you, coupled with people’s tendency to forget and get distracted.

Imagine an “attention meter.” Every time people see you, that meter gets bumped up a little higher. But then, whenever they aren’t seeing you, it’s slowly dropping back down.

If you space your appearances out over a large period of time, you lose a lot of the effect:

But if you do them all together, you get two benefits:

You don’t lose momentum between posts.

People start talking about you, contributing to even more impressions and attention.

Eventually, you pass the threshold of “getting noticed,” and it all gets easier. You need less of an introduction because people already know who you are.

But I Wasn’t Really Everywhere…

Here’s the second thing I learned: You don’t need to be everywhere in order to appear “everywhere.”

What do I mean by that? There are billions of people on the planet, and these days, most of them are online. Now, as much as I enjoyed my micro-spotlight of fame, I knew that hardly any of them had heard of me.

But you have. And so have a lot of people you follow. Right?

This is because the blogosphere is organized into micro-networks, small groups of blogs that read and comment on each others’ stuff, interact with each other, and share large portions of their audience.

I didn’t intentionally target a micro-network, but I did go after most of the blogs that I read and followed, which, of course, were part of the same micro-network, the one that I was following.

So I wasn’t everywhere. I was in most of the places that this pocket of the blogosphere hangs out.

Hence, the appearance of being everywhere.

I stumbled onto this whole idea by accident, but you can do it with intention, and probably do it faster and better than I did…

How to Legally Stalk Your Audience: Finding Your “Everywhere”

Are you ready to be “everywhere” your audience is online? Keep reading, and I’ll tell you how to do it.

The first step is to find a micro-network. It takes some work, but it isn’t all that complicated. You can even have a virtual assistant do most of this for you:

1. Find the authority blogs in your space.

You may already know what they are, but if you don’t, you can do a Google search for “[YOUR KEYWORD] blog” and start from there.

You may not actually find the authority blogs in the results (depending on how good they are at SEO), but reach out to whoever you do find and ask them to do an interview for your blog. In the interview, ask who they look up to in the industry.

2. Read through the blog and see who they link to.

Then follow those links, and see who all of those blogs link to. Make a list with at least 10 to 15 blogs you’d like to write for. Take that list of blogs and plug them into Excel, as column headers (don’t worry, I’ll show you a screenshot in a minute).

3. List the people who comment on all the blogs.

The commenters should be the row headers in Excel, and then you can check off the blogs each commenter comments on.

4. Find the blogs that share lots of commenters.

The blogs that have a lot of the same people commenting on all of them are the ones that form the micro-network.

Here’s a screenshot of what the Excel sheet might look like, to make it easier:

If you want to appear everywhere, you need to saturate that micro-network. Now let’s talk about how to do it…

Plant Seeds by Joining the Conversation

If you’re wondering how to increase blog traffic, you’ve got to start by reading the blogs and joining in the conversation.

Don’t force your way in. Jump in where you feel you can add some value, and on the posts that you find valuable.

Remember that no matter how much you may want to penetrate a micro-network, you won’t be able to do it if you don’t like the content. So if the content doesn’t resonate, just leave it alone, and go after the other blogs.

While you’re engaging in the conversation, pay attention to what topics other people are interested in, and what ideas of yours seem to get the best response and traction.

Don’t rush it. Have realistic expectations about how long it takes to become part of a community. Truth be told, with most of the communities that I was a part of online, I felt like an outsider looking in for a long time.

This is important: Make sure you’ve reached the point where the bloggers have all responded to several of your comments before you move on to the next step…

Guest Post Blitzkrieg

The next step is the guest post blitzkrieg, the act of being “everywhere.”

For each of the blogs you’ve been following, make a list of a few headline ideas for guest posts that you could write. Make sure they would resonate with their audience.

Now you have to make a choice: write first, or pitch first.

But before you choose, download my step-by-step checklist for writing great posts every time. It’s free, and it’s the exact outline I use in all my posts. Use it with my blessing. ☺

If you’re a procrastinator, then pitch first.

Once you’ve pitched the bloggers and they’ve asked for a draft, you’re pretty much committed—you have to write the posts, and the pressure will help you to get it done.

This is the process I followed (accidentally). It’s a lot of pressure, though, so make sure you’re ready for that.

If you’re a slow writer, then write first.

If you don’t have a problem with getting things done or need more time to write, then write the drafts of all the posts before you reach out to the bloggers. Remember, the key is to have lots of posts go up at the same time, so you need enough content for that to happen.

Of course, all the usual advice about guest posting applies: be around to interact with commenters, have great content waiting for them when they follow links back to your blog, etc. You know the drill. ☺

So There You Have It…

My complete formula for being “everywhere” online, and maybe even becoming the Freddy Krueger of your niche, just like me.

There’s just one more thing that’s important to mention: You can do this! And to be sure you can do it easily, I’m sharing my checklist for writing great posts every time. It’s the exact same outline I use in all my posts.

Download it now, and use it with my blessing. ☺

Write Epic Blog Posts!

About Danny Iny

Danny Iny (@DannyIny) is the CEO and founder of Mirasee, host of the Business Reimagined podcast, and best-selling author of multiple books including Engagement from Scratch!, The Audience Revolution, and Teach and Grow Rich.

Exellent post, Danny! Something that sets you apart from so many other bloggers in the SEO/blogging/monetizing blogs/marketing niches is your step-by-step outlines with concrete actions. None of the “find your voice” or “know your audience” vague crap (although those are both important things, rarely does anyone expand much beyond those phrases).

Your best posts follow this structure:
Here’s this awesome outcome.
Here’s how I got there.
Here’s what you can do.
Hope it turns out the same! 🙂

I especially like the bit about “legally stalking” (caveats noted at the end) your audience. I have run across your posts all over the web – then I realized that you weren’t ALL OVER the web but in the places that were relevant to me (your audience!).

I’m printing this out. I can always do with more blueprints for success. 🙂

You’re easily one of the hardest working and most impressive ‘newer’ bloggers I’ve ever witnessed day. What you’ve done is nothing short of extraordinary, and the way you’ve laid it all out here is awesome. So proud of you man and you deserve the blessings that come with such work my friend.

Man, once again you take it to the next level and reveal a process for proven results. I’m admittedly gun shy about trying to guest post – I feel weird approaching someone that I don’t already have a relationship with. Having a step-by-step process like this helps. Thank you.

Hey Danny – great post! Guest posting is something I do now then, usually when I am invited (by people like your good self) but I’ve been meaning to become more proactive about it. With such a clear blueprint, I don’t think I put it off any longer! Thanks for sharing your experience.

I do have a question though … how long would you say your initial analysis took (to find your everywhere) and how much time everyday do you allocate to commenting? Ok. That’s two questions!

I’ll try to answer the question, but it’s a bit tricky; first of all, I didn’t really do the initial initial analysis – I just kinda stumbled into it. But I would expect it would take 4-8 hours, say, if I asked my talented assistant to take care of it for me. 🙂

And I probably spend 15-90 minutes/day reading and commenting on blog posts, depending on how much time I’m putting into relationship building, and how busy I am with other things.

A spreadsheet! *shakes head in disbelief* 😉 that seems to drain all the fun out of blogging lol.

A really interesting post, I recall reading your Problogger post at the time and then seeing your Krueger-esque presence about 🙂 What I am deeply interested in is the Guest Blogging course you did with Jon Morrow are you planning to review the course in a separate post? I have wavered at every launch about joining.

Hi Danny,
This article is really timely for me. I really need to start hitting the guest posting hard. I can definitely see how having several articles on different blogs at the same time can exponentially increase your exposure. Thanks for showing us your sample pitch email. I was wondering how others initiated contact. Thanks for the reminder on how important guest posting is.

Danny, you just wrote like the blueprint for every beginning blogger. I
wish I had this info when I started out. What I like to do on a blog article I like is to open
the links of the commenters in different firefox tabs and then
place a comment on each of their latest post. It’s less analytical than your Excel approach, but it’s a quick way to reach different people from a micro-network.

You bring up a really good point about the value of guest posting on multiple blogs in a short period of time. I’m constantly seeing the same people on many of the blogs I read and they “stick” in my mind because of that.

Excellent! Thank you for steering me to this post after our telephone conversation. I’ve already started following your instructions and, of course, I’ve been exploring Firepole Marketing! I see a great deal to like here. I’ll be back!

Actually, I have tried guest blogging and it does make good on my ranking. However, I have not been lucky enough to be on A-list blogs like Copyblogger. But at least you have given me a motivation here to give it another try. 🙂

Hey Walter, the most important thing is to get in anywhere you can, and then leverage your successes on those blogs to get onto bigger ones. When you approach larger blogs, make sure to reference the results that you saw on your past guest posts. And definitely keep on trying – some blogs are harder to get into than others, but it’s usually worth the extra effort. 🙂

I love the way you’ve laid out your case for the effectiveness of guest blogging. I’ve just recently started guest blogging and I’ve realized that its more work than writing for your own blog. You need to be sure you write for THEIR audience, while at the same time give them a flavor of your own work.

I can be a little tricky but fun, too.

For example, I recently wrote a guest post on a multi-niche blog that covered both blogging and relationships! I thought about this one for a while and finally came up with the idea for a post — 5 Ways to Romance Your Blog Readers Like a New Girlfriend.

It got great comments and was well shared, and I now have built a strong relationship with the blog owner who I just recently agreed to an interview on my blog. I see how this works!

I liked this article. I haven’t managed to crack guest blogging just yet – but I guess I haven’t been trying hard enough.

One of my big problems is finding places to guest blog. I read all the marketing and blogging stuff but my site isn’t really about that… Finding places that are a match for what I write about has been tough so far but again, I probably just need to work harder!

It can be tough, but how about this – instead of looking for blogs that are about your subject, try looking for blogs where your readers hang out, and write about the intersection between that subject, and your subject.

just came over here from thinktraffic and with only two posts you managed to get into my reader, wow!

However, I have one question concerning guest posting. When your guest post wave started did you already have your opt-in form ready? What about a product?

I’m currently in the process of developing my first product and already have my opt-in form ready. I’m wondering whether I should wait for my product to be finished or if the opt-in is enough when launching the blitzkrieg. What’s your take on that?

I’ll let Danny chime in when he gets back from his honeymoon, but here is what we did.

At Firepole Marketing, we progressed on the product significantly before putting up the site. As part of the site, we included the opt-in for our free video course. As part of our marketing plan, we knew when things needed to be ready by (with some allowances for delays) and still be able to execute our plan.

Of course, I’d always recommend you have lead capturing on your site. Always. And you do, which is good.

You don’t *need* to be 100% ready with your product, but I’d recommend you plan carefully so that it’s ready with time to spare before your offer goes out as part of your “blitzkrieg”. There is nothing worse then orchestrating a launch only to have to delay it because of product development headaches.
Hope this helps.

Hey Tim, learning from our experiences, I would actually recommend two waves of blitz-krieg; one when all you’ve got up is the opt-in, so that you have a base to launch to, and another when the launch is happening, to get even more attention for it. It’s a lot of work, but worth it in the end (and that’s more or less the launch model that we followed, and continue to follow with other projects).

I’d be happy to chat about this if you want – send me an email to danny (at) firepolemarketing (dot) com and we can setup a time to talk. 🙂

This may have been my first visit to Firepole Marketing. Danny, I love your writing style.

And I have to suspect that your awesome writing skills had a lot more impact in building your guest blogging venues than shooting off an email on a whimsy. Actually, it sounds like there was nothing whimsical about what you did. I’m not convinced that all of your readers understand that.

Then we get to your strategy for creating presence within micro-networks (aka community infiltration). Again, there’s nothing whimsical about that either. You got a whole lot of madness and method going on – especially if you are charting it on Excel.

This will be a sensitive topic for some. But it is almost exactly the same strategy employed by some of the more savvy corporations and governments.

And yes, you’re right – the relative success that I’ve experience is definitely part the result of my writing experience, but a lot of it is also just having put myself into a situation where I had no choice but to perform.

The excel spreadsheets and strategic understanding came later – first, I stumbled through it, and then I analyzed to understand why it had worked. 😀

With out a doubt this is the best post I have ever read. It resonates with me and I am sure this technique will work! I am going to do this and report back- It could be a while as I need to finish my blog first- but I am now inspired!

Thank you for this, what a wealth of information! I always hear people say to try to publish one guest post a month but I can really see the value in getting a lot of them out there in a small amount of time. I’m going to map out my plan, thank you!

Danny — Considering that you linked to my blog and I was one of your targets for a post, I’m surprised that I didn’t leave a comment (although we’ve had plenty of correspondence.) So if anyone new to this site is leaving a comment, follow Danny’s advice. I’ve watched his shooting star since he wrote this post. Great advice and I’m honored to be a blog that he considered worthy of a guest column! Thanks, Danny.

Danny, would you suggest writing your website pages using the same format as your blog posts? For example, your home page talking about the pain your clients face and so on? Then the same on pages about your services?

Thank you for this. You definitely over-delivered with the information in this post. I’m stopping by because I just received an e-mail from you about your new book, “How to Build a Blog (Create Awesome Content and Build Community)”. I wanted to take a moment to say thank you for the free download through Amazon. I had no idea that I could download an app on my iPhone to start reading your Kindle book immediately. I’m excited to start reading the book. I will be sure to leave you a review on Amazon. Again, thank you.

guest posting has always been on top of my list, but I’m in the forex trading niche and the question is, do you cross niche to guest blog?

Like personal finance niche as guest blog? In terms of guest posting for a highly engaged audience, do you do research how which post is popular and write a post similar if not better for that guest post?

Hey David, the short answer is that you want to go where the audience is, as long as it’s a context that is still relevant; so personal finance sites might be fine, investment sites might be fine, and any other site that your audience might frequent, while in a “business/investing” headspace should work, too. And yes, we do tons of research.

For the long answer, and details on how to do all of that, check out Write Like Freddy. 😉

Thanks for a great post – I only just discovered you recently and was able to attend a webinar that I found absolutely fascinating. I love that you give actionable steps instead of just vague ideas. Thanks again!

Thank you for your valuable input into my mind’ i will try something from your comments i have been struggling about blogging just for the sake of the book am struggling with’ i would very much like getting connected to other bloggers so that i can get inputs that will help with my book writing techniques’ i welcome criticism with building comments anywhere ‘ criticism is a motivator and it builds’ tx again Danny’

Thank you for such good information. I hadn’t realized the value in guest blogging until reading your article about how much help it can generate. My blogs are almost all set up, but I’m waiting for Google AdSense to give final approval, as the space for the ads is there but no ads yet, and one of my blogs there is a “stupid” little ad blocking some of my wording. Plus, I think I need to know if I have anyone coming to my blogs yet, so an experienced friend who is helping me is going to add a code to check that out. But, in a short time I will see what I can do with guest blogs. Thank you again!
Barbara

This is a great strategy to implement. I’ve been following a couple of blog communities consistently for the past year or so, I just haven’t been doing a lot of guest posting, but I see the rewards of it. I’m scheduled to guest post on a couple of blogs and as you and many others have mention, it’s a great way to draw more traffic!

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